Commission Alerts – April 2016

Commission Alerts

The Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA) would like to bring your attention to the following critical announcements as a result of its April 11-12, 2016 meeting:

Student Roster Document Tracking Update

In an effort to improve reporting procedures and verifiable data collection for accredited schools and programs, the Commission implemented an online Student Roster document in the Accreditation Management System (EDvera). The first series of Rosters reporting on the 2014-2015 academic year were due February 1, 2016 as part of schools’ annual reports.

The new Rosters collect raw data* on student enrollments, completion and placement which is more current than past reporting procedures. This allows the Commission and schools to more closely monitor trends in completion and placement rather than only reviewing data from years past. The result is more reliable and accurate information to support standards for student outcomes and program effectiveness (Standard VIII).

COMTA Staff and Commissioners have reviewed the initial reports and will continue to collect baseline student outcomes data to evaluate suitable benchmarks for completion and placement rates. Because schools are submitting more current information, the Rosters must be updated as students complete and are placed (per COMTA Student Outcomes Tracking Policy).

Within 30 days after the meeting, all Student Rosters will be returned for any updates since February 2016. Schools will continue to track and enter any additional data until the roster is complete. Resubmission deadlines to be determined. The Commission is developing a comprehensive policy for reporting and evaluating completion and placement rates, as well as establishing appropriate benchmarks for compliance. The first draft of the policy was discussed and is being refined for approval at the Commission’s July 2016 meeting, after which schools will receive guidelines on when official rates will be calculated and published.

Until that time, the Commission authorizes all COMTA-accredited schools and programs to publish the last official completion and placement rates from the most recently approved Completion, Placement, Licensure (CPL) Chart (Appendix D.12) in any public disclosures.

The Commission voted to change the previously-approved December 1 deadline for annual reports to a permanent deadline of February 1. This will allow schools additional time to collect data for the Student Rosters. The Commission will review the reports at its annual spring meeting.

Commission Positions

Election Update – The Commission’s Nominating Committee has received and vetted several nominations for open Commission positions. The Commission approved a slate for the upcoming ballot. Please watch for further news and instructions for the upcoming Summer 2016 election.

Thank you – The COMTA Commission and staff would like to thank the following Commissioners for their service as they leave the board:

Cristina DeBoer (former Esthetics Educator member)

CG Funk (former Employer member)

Lisa Helbig (former Administrator member)

CG Funk was re-appointed as a Distinguished Contributor member, per COMTA Bylaws.

For additional information concerning this memorandum, please contact Kate Zulaski, Executive Director, at 202-688-6790 x101, or via email at kzulaski@comta.org. You may also email the chair of the Commission at chair@comta.org.

Be sure to check the COMTA website regularly for actions and alerts. The Commission updates all pertinent actions and alerts on its website.